Ecology

Ecology

• Ecology - the study of interactions among organisms and between the organisms and their environment.

• These interactions occur in the biosphere - includes everything between 8km above Earth to 11km below the surface of the ocean. This is the largest group/level.

The Levels of Organization in the Biosphere

• Biosphere Biome Ecosystem Community Population Individual

• Biome - group of ecosystems that have the same climate and dominant communities. Example - Temperate deciduous forest.

• Ecosystem - all organisms and all physical factors in the environment that live in a particular place at a particular time. Example- All animals, plants, water, and soil.

The Levels of Organization in the Biosphere continues

• Community - groups of populations that live together in an area. Example - Field mice and rats in the forest.

• Population - groups of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area. Example - Field mice, rats

• Species - groups of organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring. Example - Field mice.

Interactions

• Interactions between a community of organisms and the environment are give and take relationships.

• Take - materials and energy needed for life.

• Give - materials and energy back to the environment.

Feeding

• Organisms that use the energy of the sun directly though photosynthesis are called producers or autotrophs.

• Organisms that eat other organisms for energy are consumers or heterotrophs.

Types of Consumers

• Primary consumers eat producers. (Cow eats grass) aka herbivores

• Secondary consumers eat other consumers. (Tiger eats antelope)

• Carnivores - eat only animals (meat eaters)• Herbivores - eat only plants• Omnivores - eat both animals (meat), plants,

and/or algae.• Decomposers - (also know as

detritivores/saprophytes) - obtain energy by breaking down remains of dead plants, animals, and other matter.

• Scavenger - feed on bodies of dead animals.

Food Chains and Food Webs

• Food Chains and Food Webs – show the feeding relationships and the movement of energy from organism to organism.

Food Chains

• Food Chain - a series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten.

Food Web

• Food Web - a network of complex interactions between food chains in an ecosystem.

The arrows point to the organism that is doing the eating. This shows the direction of energy

flow.

Ecological Pyramid

• Each step in a food chain or food web represents a feeding step or trophic level. These levels are represent by a pyramid.

•As you go up the trophic (feeding) levels:•Available energy decreases•Biomass generally decreases•Numbers of organisms decrease

90% of the Energy is lost at every step. Only 10% is transferred up each trophic level.

Factors That Influence Ecosystems

• Biotic factors - living factors that are a part of an ecosystem.

• Animals• Plants• Fungi• Bacteria• Protists• Abiotic factors - non-living factors that are a part of an

ecosystem.• Temperature • Precipitation • Nutrient availability • Wind • Humidity • Soil type

Habitat and Niche

• An organism’s habitat is its address or HOME and its niche is the JOB it holds. (A lily pad’s habitat is the pond and its niche is a producer)

Topic Your thoughts/ explanation

Energy (pg 72)

Food Chains/Energy Pyramids (pg 73-74)

Decomposition (pg 74)

Read pgs 70-75

Answer questions 1-4 on page 75